Restored to Ride: The 1968 Honda CL450

By Margie Siegal
Published on August 13, 2015
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This 1968 Honda CL450 is quite a head-turner with its beautifully designed muffler.
This 1968 Honda CL450 is quite a head-turner with its beautifully designed muffler.
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1968 Honda CL450
1968 Honda CL450
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1968 Honda CL450
1968 Honda CL450
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1968 Honda CL450
1968 Honda CL450
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1968 Honda CL450
1968 Honda CL450
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1968 Honda CL450
1968 Honda CL450
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Original seat cover was treated to new foam.
Original seat cover was treated to new foam.
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Twin-leading-shoe front brake.
Twin-leading-shoe front brake.
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The CL450’s high pipes make it look taller, narrower and lighter than its CB450 cousin, but it was actually only 5 pounds lighter.
The CL450’s high pipes make it look taller, narrower and lighter than its CB450 cousin, but it was actually only 5 pounds lighter.
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The CL450’s high pipes make it look taller, narrower and lighter than its CB450 cousin, but it was actually only 5 pounds lighter.
The CL450’s high pipes make it look taller, narrower and lighter than its CB450 cousin, but it was actually only 5 pounds lighter.
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Restorer Don Stockett putting on some pre-delivery shakedown miles.
Restorer Don Stockett putting on some pre-delivery shakedown miles.
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The CL450 looks particularly good from the left side, the twin high pipes defining its stance and offroad pretensions.
The CL450 looks particularly good from the left side, the twin high pipes defining its stance and offroad pretensions.

1968 Honda CL450
Claimed power: 45hp @ 9,000rpm
Top speed: 105.74mph (period test)
Engine: 444cc air-cooled DOHC parallel twin, 70mm x 57.8mm bore and stroke, 9:1 compression ratio
Weight (dry): 401lb (182kg)
Fuel capacity/MPG: 2.4gal (9ltr)/45-55mpg (est.)
Price then/now: $1,035/$3,000-$7,000

Forty years ago, a Honda 450 was easy to find. Thousands were built for people who wanted to get to school or work. They were well made and sold for a reasonable price to people who, as often as not, didn’t keep up the maintenance schedule. Most were used, abused and put away wet. Today, what was once a common bike is becoming a rarity.

This story starts with an email written by Mark Dickey in Tennessee to Don Stockett of Vintage Motorcycle Rescue in California. “Mark was looking for a mint 1968 Honda CL450 to purchase, and his intent was to ride it,” Don says. “He said he wasn’t a collector. His only other motorcycle was a mint condition 1967 Triumph Bonneville that he kept in his kitchen because it was too pristine to be ridden. He was just looking for a really nice bike he could ride.” Don knew finding one — especially a “really nice one” — would be difficult.

Getting to the 450

Honda started exporting motorcycles to the United States in 1959. After a rocky start, sales took off, especially after the “You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda” advertising campaign. Yoshiro Harada, in charge of the development of the 450, is quoted in Honda’s official history as saying, “In 1960 the U.S. market for large motorcycles was approximately 60,000 units annually. Of these, most were imports from British makers. The Japanese market was comparatively much smaller, with monthly sales of several hundred units. But through our understanding of the situation we decided to develop a 450cc bike, specifically a mass-production model, that could be sold in the U.S. as well as Japan.”

The British manufacturers were coasting on their success, distributing as much of their profits to shareholders as possible and not upgrading their factories. In contrast, Honda had put its profits into a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Suzuka, Japan. Up and running in 1960, the new factory could turn out highly developed motorcycles at reasonable cost. Quality control — apparently of little interest to the British companies — was a byword in Japan. For some reason, the British believed that their Japanese counterparts had no interest in building large capacity motorcycles. They were wrong.

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